Researchers explore the near-term feasibility of implementing carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) at US ethanol biorefineries. Atmospheric carbon dioxide removal through CCS is likely to be essential for climate change mitigation, but most CCS technologies are technologically immature or commercially unavailable. One exception is the capture and sequestration of carbon dioxide produced by ethanol fermentation, a goal attainable through existing technologies. Daniel Sanchez and colleagues evaluated the technical, economic, and institutional feasibility of implementing CCS at existing ethanol biorefineries in the United States. Currently, 216 ethanol biorefineries in the United States cumulatively emit 45 megatons of carbon dioxide per year. The authors determined that approximately 60% of these emissions could be captured and compressed for transport for less than $25 per ton, or 5 cents per gallon of ethanol produced. A carbon sequestration credit, analogous to existing CCS tax credits, of $60 per ton of carbon dioxide sequestered would render cost-effective the sequestration of 30 megatons of carbon dioxide per year and would facilitate the construction of 6,900 km of pipeline for transporting captured carbon dioxide. The proposed incorporation of CCS into California's low-carbon fuel standards and recently expanded federal tax credits for carbon sequestration could catalyze substantial near-term growth of CCS infrastructure, according to the authors.
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Article #17-19695: "Near-term deployment of carbon capture and sequestration from biorefineries in the United States," by Daniel L. Sanchez, Nils Johnson, Sean T. McCoy, Peter A. Turner, and Katherine J. Mach.
MEDIA CONTACT: Daniel L. Sanchez, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, CA; tel: 215-593-4493; e-mail: <dansanch01@gmail.com>
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences